Once a Cheater, Always a Cheater!

Let me tell you guys a little something about cheats. Cheat meals, cheat days, cheat weeks, vacationing from dieting. Here’s the deal: if you need to cheat on your healthy lifestyle, then you haven’t made a healthy lifestyle. You’re thinking, “Hold on! What about that time when Melody said she wanted cake in her belly!?”

Guys, I love cake, and I’m not about to pretend that I don’t eat sweets. A healthy lifestyle is a lifestyle in which everything is moderated. Instead of eating the a slice of cake, two scoops of ice cream, and following up with a giant soda, I have a small slice of cake and a serving of ice cream. Instead of eating a whole cookie, I split it with my love. I grew up in a house where there was dessert or something sweet at EVERY meal. Unless I taste something sweet at the end of the day, I don’t have a clue that I’m done and I can go on munching for FOREVER.

My trick is usually to have a fun sized candy bar handy for after dinner. Sometimes, I simply save calories because I know that if I don’t get a little sugar fix, I’m going to be at the bottom of a giant Sonic milkshake in three days’ time.

This lifestyle isn’t about being good ALL THE TIME. It’s really just about knowing your weaknesses and how to handle them. I never want to end up back where I was at 253 lbs and in size 22 jeans. I do that by giving myself little treats.

By calling a sweet a “cheat,” you are giving that sweet a power over you. You are allowing that sweet to own you and become something coveted that you save for a special occasion or a day when you burn more than usual while exercising. Take the power away from the foods you just can’t stay away from and turn them into tools for your success!